Lonesome Jim
Encyclopedia
Lonesome Jim is a 2005 American comedy
/drama film
directed by Steve Buscemi
. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen
, Indiana
, the film stars Casey Affleck
as a chronically depressed
aspiring novelist who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City
. Liv Tyler
also stars as a good-hearted nurse who finds contentment through encouraging optimism in Jim's glum world.
Lonesome Jim premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize but it lost the award to Ira Sachs
' Forty Shades of Blue
.
) is a perennially gloomy 27 year-old aspiring novelist from Goshen, Indiana
who moved to New York City
in hopes of finding success with his writing. After two years of barely making a living as a dog walker, he defeatedly decides to move back home to his parents' house in Goshen.
Jim's 32 year-old brother Tim (Kevin Corrigan
) is a recently divorced father of two young girls whose business recently failed. Tim has moved back into his parents' home and he works in the ladder factory that's owned and operated by their pessimistic father Don (Seymour Cassel
) and overly cheerful mother Sally (Mary Kay Place
). Jim has no interest in the family business and he resists pressure from Don to start working there.
Jim meets Anika (Liv Tyler
), a nurse, in a bar and they end up having sex in a hospital bed, though Jim finishes embarrassingly early.
After an argument between the two brothers on whose life has been more pathetic so far, Tim, having previously made repeated unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide
, drives his car into a tree in hopes of ending his life; he is gravely injured and hospitalized. Jim now finally gives in to Don's pressure to work in the factory by taking over Tim's duties. He also takes over Tim's job as the coach of a girls basketball
team; the team, which has not scored a single point in the last 14 games, includes both of Tim's daughters.
While visiting Tim is in the hospital, Jim runs into Anika, who works in another department. They arrange a date, but on arriving to collect her, he discovers she is a single mother. Their relationship progresses, however. Anika is sympathetic to Jim's problems, and she decides to stand by him in encouragement even when he tries to convince her that it's in her best interest to not be around him.
At the ladder factory, Jim encounters his uncle Stacy (Mark Boone Junior
), who prefers to be called "Evil." Jim seeks advice from Evil about premature ejaculation, and they become friends of a sort. Evil offers Jim some recreational drugs and asks Jim to open a checking account for him so he can pay for things by mail. Evil gives Jim $4,000, saying it is saved-up birthday and Christmas presents.
Jim's mother, Sally, is arrested by DEA
officers for allegedly shipping illegal drugs through the store's Fedex account. It transpires that Evil is the drug dealer
, but Jim cannot persuade him to confess. Evil points out that Jim will be implicated if he tries to report Evil, as he has opened an account with Evil's cash and will test positive for drug use. Eternal optimist that she is, Sally finds happiness in her new surroundings and makes friends with her fellow prisoners. Eventually she is released on bail.
Despite working a job he hates and feeling responsible for his mother's imprisonment, Jim slowly allows his monumental depression to be dismantled by Anika and finds himself believing that life is worth living. Jim invites Anika and her son to move to New Orleans with him, but after Jim vacillates, she is offended and this seems to be off the cards. Jim finally decides to leave town for New Orleans by himself, leaving a note for his parents promising not to take their love for granted again and revealing Evil as the drug dealer. Anika shows up at the bus station to say good-bye, but seems to Jim miss the opportunity to reconcile with her. Jim departs on the bus, but as Anika drives home with her son, Jim is seen running after them, luggage in hand.
and had a proposed budget of $3 million. However, the deal with Universal was unexpectedly cancelled and Lonesome Jim then ended up being shot and produced on a meager budget of $500,000 with the original filming schedule being reduced from 30 down to 17 days. As a cost saving measure, screenplay writer James C. Strouse
, a native of Goshen
, Indiana
, employed two of his nieces as actors in the film, another family member as location manager, as well he used his parents' home and factory as a location for Jim's parents' home and factory. More money was saved by recording the entire film onto a mini-DV
digital video camera rather than a film camera.
The film received mixed reaction from film critics. The aggregate review websites Rotten Tomatoes
and Metacritic
record a rating of 60 percent and 54/100 respectively as of October 28, 2008. Film critic Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
awarded the film three stars out of four, and it also received "Two thumbs up" on the film review television program At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper co-hosted by Richard Roeper
. Mathew Turner of View London
proclaimed "Lonesome Jim is one of the year's best films, thanks to a superb script, terrific performances and Buscemi's assured direction".
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
awarded it three stars out of four, calling the film a "deadpan delight" and proclaiming "I can't recall having a better time at a movie about depression". Critic Christopher Campbell declared the film "hilarious throughout. By far it is the funniest thing I saw during the [Sundance film] festival".
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
did not give the film a very favorable review, criticizing the film's sense of humor by calling it "only as broad as the Mona Lisa
's smile" and criticizing Affleck's portrayal of Jim. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
awarded the film a grade of C minus, writing that director Steve Buscemi
"is stymied here by the inertia of his material".
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, the film stars Casey Affleck
Casey Affleck
Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt , better known as Casey Affleck, is an American actor and film director. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he played supporting roles in mainstream hits like Good Will Hunting and Ocean's Eleven as well as in critically acclaimed independent films such as...
as a chronically depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
aspiring novelist who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
also stars as a good-hearted nurse who finds contentment through encouraging optimism in Jim's glum world.
Lonesome Jim premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize but it lost the award to Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs is an American filmmaker. His first film was the acclaimed short Lady .He directed Sundance Film Festival selection The Delta and directed Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize winning Forty Shades of Blue...
' Forty Shades of Blue
Forty Shades of Blue
Forty Shades of Blue is a 2005 independent film directed by Ira Sachs. It tells the story of Alan James , an aging music producer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his much younger Russian girlfriend, Laura . Their life together is complicated by the presence of Alan's adult son Michael Forty...
.
Plot
Jim (Casey AffleckCasey Affleck
Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt , better known as Casey Affleck, is an American actor and film director. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he played supporting roles in mainstream hits like Good Will Hunting and Ocean's Eleven as well as in critically acclaimed independent films such as...
) is a perennially gloomy 27 year-old aspiring novelist from Goshen, Indiana
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
who moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in hopes of finding success with his writing. After two years of barely making a living as a dog walker, he defeatedly decides to move back home to his parents' house in Goshen.
Jim's 32 year-old brother Tim (Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
) is a recently divorced father of two young girls whose business recently failed. Tim has moved back into his parents' home and he works in the ladder factory that's owned and operated by their pessimistic father Don (Seymour Cassel
Seymour Cassel
Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
) and overly cheerful mother Sally (Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
). Jim has no interest in the family business and he resists pressure from Don to start working there.
Jim meets Anika (Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
), a nurse, in a bar and they end up having sex in a hospital bed, though Jim finishes embarrassingly early.
After an argument between the two brothers on whose life has been more pathetic so far, Tim, having previously made repeated unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, drives his car into a tree in hopes of ending his life; he is gravely injured and hospitalized. Jim now finally gives in to Don's pressure to work in the factory by taking over Tim's duties. He also takes over Tim's job as the coach of a girls basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team; the team, which has not scored a single point in the last 14 games, includes both of Tim's daughters.
While visiting Tim is in the hospital, Jim runs into Anika, who works in another department. They arrange a date, but on arriving to collect her, he discovers she is a single mother. Their relationship progresses, however. Anika is sympathetic to Jim's problems, and she decides to stand by him in encouragement even when he tries to convince her that it's in her best interest to not be around him.
At the ladder factory, Jim encounters his uncle Stacy (Mark Boone Junior
Mark Boone Junior
Mark Boone Junior is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as Bobby Munson in FX's Sons of Anarchy and in two films by Christopher Nolan, Memento and Batman Begins...
), who prefers to be called "Evil." Jim seeks advice from Evil about premature ejaculation, and they become friends of a sort. Evil offers Jim some recreational drugs and asks Jim to open a checking account for him so he can pay for things by mail. Evil gives Jim $4,000, saying it is saved-up birthday and Christmas presents.
Jim's mother, Sally, is arrested by DEA
DEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
officers for allegedly shipping illegal drugs through the store's Fedex account. It transpires that Evil is the drug dealer
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, but Jim cannot persuade him to confess. Evil points out that Jim will be implicated if he tries to report Evil, as he has opened an account with Evil's cash and will test positive for drug use. Eternal optimist that she is, Sally finds happiness in her new surroundings and makes friends with her fellow prisoners. Eventually she is released on bail.
Despite working a job he hates and feeling responsible for his mother's imprisonment, Jim slowly allows his monumental depression to be dismantled by Anika and finds himself believing that life is worth living. Jim invites Anika and her son to move to New Orleans with him, but after Jim vacillates, she is offended and this seems to be off the cards. Jim finally decides to leave town for New Orleans by himself, leaving a note for his parents promising not to take their love for granted again and revealing Evil as the drug dealer. Anika shows up at the bus station to say good-bye, but seems to Jim miss the opportunity to reconcile with her. Jim departs on the bus, but as Anika drives home with her son, Jim is seen running after them, luggage in hand.
Cast
- Casey AffleckCasey AffleckCaleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt , better known as Casey Affleck, is an American actor and film director. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he played supporting roles in mainstream hits like Good Will Hunting and Ocean's Eleven as well as in critically acclaimed independent films such as...
as Jim - Liv TylerLiv TylerLiv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
as Anika - Kevin CorriganKevin CorriganKevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
as Tim - Mary Kay PlaceMary Kay PlaceMary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
as Sally - Seymour CasselSeymour CasselSeymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
as Don - Mark Boone JuniorMark Boone JuniorMark Boone Junior is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as Bobby Munson in FX's Sons of Anarchy and in two films by Christopher Nolan, Memento and Batman Begins...
as Stacy a.k.a "Evil" - Jack Rovello as Ben
Production
The film was originally a part of a deal with Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and had a proposed budget of $3 million. However, the deal with Universal was unexpectedly cancelled and Lonesome Jim then ended up being shot and produced on a meager budget of $500,000 with the original filming schedule being reduced from 30 down to 17 days. As a cost saving measure, screenplay writer James C. Strouse
James C. Strouse
James C. Strouse is an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote the film Lonesome Jim , directed by Steve Buscemi. He wrote and made his directorial debut with Grace Is Gone starring John Cusack. Strouse won an Audience Award for most popular dramatic feature and the Waldo Salt...
, a native of Goshen
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, employed two of his nieces as actors in the film, another family member as location manager, as well he used his parents' home and factory as a location for Jim's parents' home and factory. More money was saved by recording the entire film onto a mini-DV
DV
DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....
digital video camera rather than a film camera.
Critical reception and box office
During its theatrical run, Lonesome Jim never earned back its initial budget of $500,000; instead, the film grossed less than $155,000 domestically and less than $175,000 worldwide.The film received mixed reaction from film critics. The aggregate review websites Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
record a rating of 60 percent and 54/100 respectively as of October 28, 2008. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
awarded the film three stars out of four, and it also received "Two thumbs up" on the film review television program At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper co-hosted by Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
. Mathew Turner of View London
View London
View London, owned by the 2 View Group Ltd, is an online entertainment guide to London, UK covering restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs in London. It also has a "What's On" guide and reviews of current cinema releases by Matthew Turner, its resident film critic.The site allow users to post...
proclaimed "Lonesome Jim is one of the year's best films, thanks to a superb script, terrific performances and Buscemi's assured direction".
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
awarded it three stars out of four, calling the film a "deadpan delight" and proclaiming "I can't recall having a better time at a movie about depression". Critic Christopher Campbell declared the film "hilarious throughout. By far it is the funniest thing I saw during the [Sundance film] festival".
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
did not give the film a very favorable review, criticizing the film's sense of humor by calling it "only as broad as the Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
's smile" and criticizing Affleck's portrayal of Jim. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
awarded the film a grade of C minus, writing that director Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
"is stymied here by the inertia of his material".
See also
- 2005 in film2005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- List of American films of 2005